life in the old lane

And here, once again is the traditional Solstice greeting that Carlton and I used for years. Even decades.

Wishing everyone the best of the festive season – no matter what it’s called at your house. In pagan traditions, the solstice is a time to put away the things of the old year and look forward to the new. One observance of the solstice involves extinguishing all the fires in your home before midnight on the eve of the solstice and lighting a new fire the next day. This probably won’t be quite as symbolic if you have central heating. Or if you are in Hawai’i.

The winter solstice falls on December 21 – the word solstice means “sun stopping.” The winter solstice is the day on which the sun reaches as far south of the equator as it gets, and is as such the shortest and darkest day of the year in the northern hemisphere. The solstice marks the rebirth of light for the coming spring.

The winter solstice also marks, among other things, the druid festival of Alban Arthuan – a time for bestowing gifts upon those less fortunate than ourselves. Out of this observance has grown the more popular tradition of gift-giving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, maxed-out credit cards and 70% off sales. May the goddess be with you during this season – but don’t blame her if you get fruitcake again.

I am grateful for that which I have.
I am not sorrowful for that which I do not.
I have more than others, less than some,
I am blessed with what is mine.

Carlton and I did not celebrate Xmas. But, we did observe the solstice. Summer and Winter.

And, no political commentary or other complaints on the solstice. 

Choices. A week ago I decided to take my chances with heart attacks and GI bleeds in exchange for less leg pain and more sleep. A friend suggested going gluten free. Well, I’ll not dismiss this without a test drive. But, not during the holiday eating season! Not to mention beer. 

For the last week, I have been using ibuprofen and turmeric.  My legs are better. Well, they feel better. There is a difference. For the coming week, I will try cutting the ibuprofen in half. 

And I have been tweaking my exercise routine. I fear that I will have to add swimming to my daily routine back at The Asylum. We have an old, highly chlorinated indoor pool. I dislike indoor pools. But, I’ll just have to deal with it. 

 A man called “Mad Dog” felt compelled to resign as SecDef. The government is headed for a shutdown. The market has tanked. Party like it is 1929.

PS. It is really one of the strangest day’s in the history of the republic. 

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

It is chilly. But no snow.

Starting to think about where to go for my next Adventure Before Alzheimers. I totally enjoyed Australia. Every part of Australia. And, several cities great huge bats. I love bats. Especially big bats. 

My floor here in the hotel is still closed. They did more carpet cleaning today. The village usually starts filling up late Christmas afternoon. And, I suppose occupancy at the hotel will also increase next week. 

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

Happy to have a day off. No events, parties, meetings or greetings. Went over to get some supplies at Target – will not go to any store except the grocery until Dec 27. 

“My” floor of the hotel is closed today. For carpet cleaning and some routine maintenance in the bathrooms. The water was off for about 4 hours. My bathroom got the maintenance – but – they agreed not to clean my carpet. The water is back on. But, I don’t think there is anybody except me on the floor tonight. The place reeks of carpet shampoo. The hotel asked if I wanted another room tonight. No thanks. My room smells fine.

It is really hard to protest anything in Kona. Because there is no place to at.  Guess the pier is as good as any place. The Coast Guard does pull up from time to pick up pizzas. And Customs also shows up every now and again to clear the occasional yacht. 

Yesterday’s most interesting fish was a 4-foot eel. Today’s most interesting fish was a tiny little flounder. It is smaller than the palm of my hand.

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

My hotel really knows how to party. The Xmas party was last night. There was lots of food. (See yesterday’s piggy.) And, I have left over prime rib and some veggies. I will turn that into some sort of steak salad for dinner. Maybe a couple of dinners. 

There are also a lot of presents and door prizes. Flat screen TV’s are the favorite door prizes. And, so are cases of toilet paper. In fact, when management realized a couple of years ago how popular cases of toilet paper actually were – now – everyone (well except me) gets a case of toilet paper. 

Yesterday also included a walk, the monthly craft fair, Xmas concert at Carlton’s Palace and a boat parade. That’s why I was too tired (and over stuffed) to do much blog-wise last night.

And, today was Xmas Tea. After the tea, I was glad to jump in the ocean. Where I found a nice big old eel.

After the eel got all curled up under a rock – we just stared at each other. I am very easily amused. He/she was about 4 foot long. So, there was lots of eel to hide!

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

Tired tonight. More tomorrow.

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

High School Canoe racing season is underway. It was pretty windy – which made for some rough water.

The boys hopped on to hold the canoe for the next set of paddlers. 

Just another lazy day. I didn’t go swimming. The wind made it too choppy to be fun. Made a stack of origami fish instead.

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

No new pictures today. I took a new friend out snorkeling today and I wanted to be sure that I paid 100% attention to her. So, the camera stayed home. She is a 50 something widow lady. And a diver. So all she needed was someone to show her where to go. But, I still felt responsible – since she had never been in the ocean in Hawai’i. The fish were all there. It was like swimming in an aquarium. She was happy.

But, I still have photos from last February in Austrailia. Melbourne was crazy for wall art. Graffiti some would call it. But, I loved it.

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

The last one is rather large. Make me happy click on it for the larger version.

It is damp and chilly this evening. But what should we expect, Xmas is 12 days away. Maybe I’ll have soup for dinner. Put on my long sleeve t-shirt. Drink hot cocoa. 

A LITTLE REFLECTION ON BEING OLD

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Choices. The orthopedic doc says to take diclofenac when my over the counter NSAID of choice fails. The primary care doc – says not so fast – both of those are bad for your blood pressure and GI tract. Avoid both.

I have been following the primary care doc’s guidance for the last year  and the result is ever increasing pain which is impacting my quality of life. So, choice made. I will take my chances with heart attacks and GI bleeds in exchange for less pain and more sleep. Sorry, but Tynelol didn’t hack it. 

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. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

Another nice day. Walking, yoga, swimming, napping, reading. 

Today’s Xmas Parade photo is of a kid who got out of the ocean to watch the parade. I think this image illustrates how cool it is to grow up in Hawai’i.

Now, I hear Tahitian drumming. Think I should go investigate. 

A LITTLE REFLECTION ON BEING OLD

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Gratitude – that old platitude that Carlton used to push on me – it seems to play an important role in old age. Today, someone online was upset because they had no one to go to the doctor with them. And, when you are old going to the doctor can be very scary. We are talking  potential major system failures there. 

I am grateful that at least a dozen people would go to a scary doctor’s appointment with me. And, most of them would even drive me  there. 

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. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

Another regular group in our Christmas Parade – The Roller Derby Ladies. 

Just a sweet lazy but active day: Walk and breakfast with Billy, then a little uphill walking for my cardio, then some yoga, a nice swim, and finally a soak/bath. Great luxury for me – a bath. Since I don’t have a bathtub back at the asylum. Finally, work on 2018 photos a bit and a little rest. Next stop: Dinner. Maybe turkey sandwich with an avocado salad roll. That should go nicely with a Guinness.  Hey, I know it’s a tough life. And I am damn grateful to be enjoying every second of it.

Found “my” little Moorish Idols again today. I’d say they are about 1/3 grown. When they get bigger they will leave the school and pair up for life. 

. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.

And, I always think it is kinda funny that the blind folk are always at the front. Do they really care if it is light or not? 

Today was chore day here in the 808. Defrost fridge, do laundry, restock fridge, clean up my room. That sort of thing. 

Then I got the bright idea that I should cull some photos. Being my own worst enemy – I accidentally deleted the ones I meant to keep. I had a backup but still. Made me feel stupid and careless.  

And, for now, I have deployed the “classic” WordPress editor. I’ll phase into the new improved one. 

Not all of the kids seem real happy to be in the parade. Maybe they would like to be scooping up the candy.

A LITTLE REFLECTION ON BEING OLD

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There comes a time when “Will Last A Lifetime” isn’t such a hot great sales pitch.  I think I am there.

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. . . 

On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. H.L. Menchen,  Baltimore Sun, July 26, 1920.